In certain motor vehicles produced by General Motors, the windshield wiper, washer and cruise controls are located in a control housing on a free end of a turn signal arm assembly. These include, inter alia, certain models of Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Cadillac passenger cars built from 1980 to 1989; Chevrolet and GMC trucks built from 1980 to 1989; Suburban, Blazer and S10 trucks built form 1980 to 1991; and Chevrolet and GMC full size vans built from 1980 to 1991.
If the windshield washer switch actuator lever on the turn signal arm is damaged, the entire turn signal arm assembly is conventionally replaced with a new original equipment manufacturer (OEM) part. This is because the OEM actuator lever is configured with an aperture for the cruise control wire harness to pass through. If a replacement OEM actuator lever were available, it would still be impossible to install because there is insufficient clearance to feed the wire harness through the aperture and install the actuator lever on the turn signal arm at the same time.
In order to install a replacement OEM turn signal arm assembly, the damaged assembly must first be removed from the steering column. This entails releasing the arm itself from a switch assembly in the steering column through the disengagement of a spring clip. The cruise control wire harness under the dashboard must be located and disconnected. An auxiliary piece of wire is attached to the wire harness, and the wire harness and auxiliary wire are pulled up through the steering column.
The replacement OEM assembly is then installed by attaching the auxiliary wire to the new cruise control wire harness, and rethreading it through the steering column. The new wire harness is then reconnected under the dash, and the replacement turn signal arm is aligned and engaged in the switch assembly in the steering column. Depending on the vehicle model, this process also requires partial disassembly of the steering column in order to remove and reinstall the cruise control wire harness.
In addition to the expense of a replacement OEM turn signal arm assembly, the process of installing a replacement OEM part is time consuming and laborious. Thus, repairing a broken windshield washer actuator lever ties up the vehicle involved for a relatively lengthy amount of time.